Life without TV

Sunday:

Lived life fine without the tube.  In the evening, around 7ish, I turned on the radio, laid on the couch and read one of my books from a stock pile.  Around 11ish that evening I woke up after having fallen asleep some time after the first few pages.  Was wide awake for several hours, so I cleaned out the closet.

Monday:

Read the same book as Sunday, fell asleep after a couple more pages.  Cleaned out the pantry.

Tuesday:

Surfed the Internet until bed time.


Am I cheating if I surf the net instead of watching TV?

I Pledge....

It's political season again.  YAY!    I haven't gotten over the last one and that was pretty brutal.  It felt like it lasted two years.

Now, every time I watch TV all I see is an update about who is running; what who said about whom; who paid the most taxes and who slept with whom.  I really don't care.  I know I should and I should be involved in the election process but it all seems so juvenile.  The name calling, the insulting, the posturing, and that's just from me. 

Every candidate talks about what's wrong and who is doing wrong but they just don't seem to say "how" they will fix it, or "how" they would do better. They speak that politico speak that says everything yet nothing all at the same time, cloaking their ambiguousness about any given topic so they never really make a commitment to one thing or another.  Just thinking on all this is raising my blood pressure!

Well, I have decided to make a stand.  I pledge to stop watching the boob tube for at least a month ( I should really stop until the election is over but I'm thinking about all my season finales I might miss.  I'll just play it by ear.  Hummm...I kinda sound non-committal, like some of those politicians I am trying to hide from.)

Instead of watching TV, I will read a book, garden, vaccuum, do laundry...wait...I might need to re-think this. 

NO...I will do it!      NO TV for a MONTH.

Morning Pages

Some time ago I read a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist Way.  Its a guide to help people become more creative; in life, in their work, what ever.  As you go through this program to make your self a creative genius, Julia recommends every morning you write, long hand, three pages of stuff.  First thing in the morning, well after you grab that coffee or tea, you empty your mind of what ever is floating around in there, any thought you have no matter how odd. The idea is that once you clear your mind of crap you are freeing your self to be creative; artistic.  


Example of my morning pages:  "I'm too sleepy to write this early in the morning.  Why is it so cold in here? Why is my pajama top turned around backwards?  Should  I wash my curtains?  Is the lady across the street up yet? Why doesn't she chop down those vines growing on her house? Why did Kim K get married? Was it for real or a scam?  Why do so many people care? Why don't i get married and make a lot of money like she did? Is it too early to go to Shipley's and get a donut?  How far do I have to walk to walk off that donut?

See, you don't have to write a novel or even be a creative writer.  You just need to empty your mind. But I have this slight problem doing it.  I don't want to do it long hand.  You see when I write something out I have to write it in a certain kind of notebook.  They can't be spiral bound.  If I skip doing the morning pages for a while, i have to have a whole new notebook to write in.  Its too depressing to write in an old, used notebook.  I need a fresh start to be motivated. So i have about 8,573,468 notebooks lying around the house as a reminder of my lack of accomplishment.

I also have to have a certain kind of pen to write with.  It has to be a colorful gel pen.  Anything else and it just isn't worth writing. So I have more pens then Office Depot scattered around my house.  Though I never seem to be able to find one when needed.  I think it's easier to go buy new pens then to look for the old ones.

So what's the point of this long drawn out story of my lack of commitment to being creative? I found this web site called 750words.com.  This site has taken Julia's concept of three pages a day and converted it into a web site.  750 words is how many words it takes to fill up three pages by the way.
Don't worry, it's private.  No one can read what you wrote so you can have all your deviate sexual fantasies written about your boss and no one will know.  You can even misspell words and you won't be judged.

Every day that you do your Morning Pages you get a little cyber cheer from the site! That's a big deal for me because I'm kinda competitive and I like to see how I have done.  I need to know how many check marks i got in a month and how many months i went over 750 words. It also can tell me how fast I wrote my Morning Pages that day.

If you are looking to make a creative change in your life then I recommend reading The Artist Way.  No matter what your talent is; a writer, a painter, a mime, this program can help get you back on track.  If you are a crappy long hand writer like myself, then check out 750words.com. 

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. The power of words

The title is a children's rhyme.  Kids would call each other names, usually bad, and the recipient of the words would chant that back to show it didn't bother them.  Well it bothered me.  I hated being called fat, stupid, ugly and four eyes.  It hurt deep inside even though I yelled that chant back at the top of my lungs. 

A few years ago I read The Hidden Messages in Water by Dr. Masrau Emoto.  This book was based on his research of how words can affect water and since humans are made up of about 70% water, how it can also affect us.

Basically, Dr. Emoto subjected water to words and sounds then caught the reaction of the water molecules through his microscope (I am sure it is a lot more complicated than what I am saying).

The results were eye opening:

I have always been sensitive to words, how they are said; in tone as well as content.  As I read this book it reaffirmed to me that words do have an impact on others and this world.  So we have a choice of what imprint we want to leave behind; words of love and encouragement or words of anger and criticism.

 

I came across this book today as I was cleaning out my bookshelf and thought it was something good to remind myself of; to be mindful of what words I choose to say not only to myself but to others.  I want to leave behind the most beautiful snowflake on someones soul that they have ever felt.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

One day while I was in elementary school, there was a school assembly in the cafeteria.  Well I was excited, it interrupted math!  Turns out we were called there to watch a movie! It was HEAVEN!  Not the movie, but the euphoria I felt for getting out of class to watch a movie.

Any who, the movie was “Island of the Blue Dolphin”.  I was mesmerized.  Just imagine, living alone on an island, with no one to tell you what to do, what to eat.  No sister to bully you.  It was just you, and a wild pack of dogs’ intent on eating you.  No worries cuz you tame the leader of the pack and you live happily ever after.

 

To this day, I still think of this movie fondly.  As a matter of fact, I actually was thinking about it this week, wishing to see it again. Then "poof", the very next day I was in the Goodwill Store and what do you know!  There on the used book shelf was “Island of the Blue Dolphin”.

It was a sign so I bought it.

Funny, I never knew there was a book about this movie. Color me embarrassed, where do movies usually come from!  So this afternoon I read it from cover to cover.  I loved it just as much as the movie.  As I read, the movie played in my head.  That’s the best vacation I ever had.